A powerful “cosmic monster” in the Crab Nebula has dazzled two space telescopes with intense X-ray beams.
According to Live Science, the “cosmic lighthouse” beaming towards Earth was discovered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, developed and operated in collaboration with European and Canadian partners.
Crab Nebula with a glowing “heart,” sweeping X-rays like a lighthouse across the universe – (Photo: NASA).
Crab Nebula is the remnant of a massive star. In 1054, humanity witnessed its brilliant explosion, known as a supernova.
The source of the lighthouse-like brightness is the “remains” of the star that exploded a thousand years ago.
This object is called a neutron star, a compact yet dense entity with extremely high energy, formed from the collapse of the core of the old star.
Latest data from Chandra reveals that this “remains” core star is undergoing significant changes over time.
It is an extreme type of neutron star, much stronger than a typical neutron star, known as a pulsar.
This cosmic monster spins at a rate of about 30 times per second, emitting a powerful radiation beam with each rotation.
The radiation beams form a sweeping whip that circles around the universe, similar to how lighthouses illuminate, shining brightly in the view of telescopes despite our world being 6,500 light-years away from the Crab Nebula.
NASA has announced plans to gather more detailed data on this changing pulsar, which could provide rare insights into the final evolutionary processes of a stellar object.
